“ What moves me could be something as simple as seeing someone at a bus stop . Maybe it ’ s how they hold their head or what they ’ re doing . I find I just like that curvature and I remember it .” half your paintings because they ’ re making people uncomfortable .’ So , I went up there and she pointed to the ones she wanted to be removed and I was like , ‘ No everything ’ s coming down .’ After that , I made and wore a t-shirt that read “ Banned in Bellingham .”
“ What moves me could be something as simple as seeing someone at a bus stop . Maybe it ’ s how they hold their head or what they ’ re doing . I find I just like that curvature and I remember it .” half your paintings because they ’ re making people uncomfortable .’ So , I went up there and she pointed to the ones she wanted to be removed and I was like , ‘ No everything ’ s coming down .’ After that , I made and wore a t-shirt that read “ Banned in Bellingham .”
“ People have to think about my art . My pieces displayed in liberal Bellingham were not like Mapplethorpe ’ s “ Male Nudes ” that tweaked Cincinnati ’ s conservative bent . In many of these paintings , I show the eyes of people . Eyes staring out , reacting to something shocking . This series captures people gawking at something left undefined . It allows the viewer to fill in the blank . Maybe the gawkers in the painting have witnessed a fatal accident or a senseless shooting . The painting puts the ‘ WHAT ’ in the minds of the viewer , which , for each , might lead them to something more horrific than I intended . Maybe the viewer even finds a way to inwardly incriminate themselves for past actions .”
With such bold challenges built into his art , I asked what inspires his work . And how can he be so prolific ?
“ A lot of my artist friends ask how I can do 300-plus paintings in a year when they can barely do five . I have 10,000 ideas fighting in my head . Each wants to be the next one birthed .
“ What moves me could be something as simple as seeing someone at a bus stop . Maybe it ’ s how they hold their head or what they ’ re doing . I find I just like that curvature and I remember it . Or I could just hear a phrase from someone and think , ‘ Oh yeah that ’ s something I wanted to paint about .’ So , it doesn ’ t take much to trigger one of my ideas . That ’ s also how a lot of the poems start too .”
Having started creating at such a young age , I was curious how his work has evolved .
Jensen said , “ Recently , I was going through some of my old work , and I wish I could still paint the way I did in 2006-2009 . In 2009 it became apparent that I was losing my 20 / 20 vision in my right eye . I have been blind in my left eye since high school . I can no longer see well enough to do the fine detail I did during that period . Couple that with me losing most of my hair , and a lot of my characters ( male or female ) became hairless which is fascinating
because they become gender neutral . It doesn ’ t matter that this is a man or a woman going through something , this is a human being going through an emotional moment . My declining vision has affected what I can do , but I have adapted and evolved as an artist .
“ I had a medical emergency last October where I actually lost my eyesight for a few days . I found out I had high blood pressure and diabetes and all this stuff . But for the next month and a half I could barely make out my paintings , so I started doing more abstracts because I didn ’ t need to see 100 percent to do them . Thankfully , people were like , ‘ oh this is really cool !’ and a few liked them enough to purchase a favorite , which I find gratifying . I was thrilled people embraced them , but I want to get back to my emotional works . Back to doing the detailed work of which I am still capable . Since my medical emergency , I have dropped 55 pounds and am feeling much healthier . The majority of my vision in my right eye is back to where it was before my wake-up call .”
With his amazing turnaround , which obviously took dedication and determination , I inquired about what , if any , message he hopes to send to the viewers / readers of his work . He responded with , “ Try to be honest with yourself . Look at the world with true eyes . Understand the price of trauma . The cost of collateral damage . Don ’ t hide from it . When you look at artwork that depicts suffering , it ’ s okay to react emotionally . Maybe it will change how you live and conduct your life .”
48 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE